Democracy: SH5, which era do you want?
 

To the Subsim Community,

The next Silent Hunter should involve modern submarine warfare simply because it will allow the possiblity of proper sub vs sub combat for the first time. Anybody who ever played Red Storm Rising will know how intense and atmospheric this can be and that was with just a handful off two-dimensional screens :yep:. No true subsim fan could not wanna see this done with with modern 3D graphics! Anybody who says that no sub ever engaged another in real life is a bit naive. Even if they didn't in the past, what's to say it won't happen in the near future? Just imagine; stalking your prey in real life topographical terrain, taking water temperature and salinity into consideration, hunting for enemy subs under the ice-pack, or breaking through said ice to launch a missile strike! Fantastic stuff!

This forum, and others like it, do have an influence on the software houses and developers. Afterall, we're their customers, it would be bad business not to pay attention. If, for example, a petition was submitted with hundreds of names on it, asking for SH5 or 6 to be a modern warfare subsim, they would pay attention.

Go watch The Hunt for Red October, Crimson Tide, Ice Station Zebra and K-19: The Widowmaker and then tell me this isn't the best idea since bread came sliced!

If I lose, I will go quietly.

Here is a little food for thought for those that fear that Cold War is all about computers:

Did you know that until 1972, the primary anti-ship torpedo of US subs, including nuclear attack subs as the Skipjack and Thresher/Permit class, were the Mk-14 and Mk-16 free running torpedos of WWII vintage?

My vote goes to WW-I, simply because it has never been done before.

I voted WW2, If I could have a second choice id pick WW1.:D

WWII. If, after all, it is to be a completely new game, I'd want to have my old favorites get the updates first. I wouldn't want to be playing WWI with a new engine and still be stuck with that old, klunky SH3 for my WWII fix.

Cold war doesn't interest me, but I'm not sure if it's the whole "I like history and historically nothing happened" or the fact that I lived through it and don't care to again.

Well, just to round out the comments, I'd love a Cold War simulation (let's say 1955-1985). It would be nice to combine Dangerous Waters-style simulation with Silent Hunter graphics.


EDIT: To clarify, my ideal would be a purely historically-based Cold War simulator. This would mean no 'what-ifs', and very little shooting. You wouldn't need follow real-life patrols, but you would do the same types of things: Observe Soviet exercises, tail Russian subs, wire tapping, et al. I know that I am in the absolute minority, but its what I enjoy, and it is what most of my personal Dangerous Waters missions entail. I know that this is very unlikely to be the type of sim released, but that's okay too.

And for the record, yes I do enjoy Microsoft Train Simulator. I know you're all surprised.

Silent Hunter should always remain in WWII.

first post!
 

I voted for WWI. Sinking the Lusitania would get my vote :P

I vote for the devs to do whatever they have in mind and let us be the judge. I would have fought the stuff in SH4UBM U-Boat side tooth and nail. But when I bought it I had the most fun I've had with my clothes on.

I hated Ducimus' idea of evil airplanes that bombed you at periscope depth. When I tried them out I absolutely loved the idea. It made Admiral Fluckey's yo-yo strategy by far the best game in town.

When Lurker came out with RSRD saying that traffic would be where it belonged historically, I railed against that. The real skippers fought an enemy that reacted to what they did. You put a sub here, they find out and run the traffic there. RSRD won't be able to do that. I tried it and it worked great.

I'm through prejudging releases, mods or games. Game developers do what they do because they're good enough to get paid. Experience tells me to take what they put out and then see if I like it. Telling them what to do is out of my league. And out of yours too. They shouldn't be limited to your prejudices and lack of imagination. Or mine.

No vote.

I would actually like to see a "hypothetical" game based on the best recent intelligence and equipment. I feel that the world is slowly moving towards Armegeddon anyway and it could be an interesting area to prospect. Besides, the new undersea technologies would be a break from WWII...

For instance, the Russians aligned with Venezuela perhaps, and operating in waters close to America. The Chinese "going alone" with their own tech. The Australian, British and Americans aligned...

Who knows?

Don't let it be the last!:p

WELCOME ABOARD!:sunny:

You certainly aren't alone in this. For my part, I tend to think we might be moving toward it quite a bit faster, in fact.

FWIW, I am NOT a bible-thumper (No. Far from it, in fact--I might be best compared to "Thomas, the skeptic.") Heck...I'm not even sure if I'm a "believer."

But, nonetheless, I can see those same signs too.


CS

I'd kind of like an early hypothetical 'cold-war gone hot' scenario, maybe 1950-1960. There should be lots of technical development, not the least would be moving from diesel/electric subs to Nuclear subs. Doing it as a fictional cold-war gone hot scenario would solve what's probably the biggest complaint about the cold war era - no shooting.
That being said, I'd be happy with pretty much anything.

Edit: Even better, Silent Hunter 5 = combined sub/surface ops, or Destroyer Command 2. Hey, we can dream...

Sounds almost like "Pre-Red Storm Rising."

That could work.


CS

Keep it within the WWII framework.
Practice makes perfect! :yep:
SH10 will be a great WWII subsim "out of the box". No bugs, great graphics, good "physics" for boats, planes, weapons and physical elements, a proper strategic and operational setting, challenging AI, a SPHERICAL EARTH and for the extreme grognards navigation by stars (which of course needs a SPHERICAL EARTH)!

...ah here comes the doctor with the pills.
-Two please!

PS: It's not a spherical earth, it's a "spheroid" earth, but I'd settle for a spherical one...

Very good!

Re: Spherical...

Even though I do realize you are kidding....

...is it also possible that you are, at the same time imagining "spherical (full surround 360) projection?" Are you even thinking of it in "what if we could do this...or see this" terms?

I ask because this very much IS a viewing solution I'm working toward (inspired by "sim-racing" and (to a lesser degree) by flight sims (IL2 series).

CS

Silent Hunter is WWII brand... It would not be that without DasBoot environment...

Even this SH4 trip to Pacific... ended up - in half of Subsim moding their best to push it back to Atlantic.

:know:

Also, some high-tech sim in modern age would be "crime" against players from non-English backgrounds...
Many guys who like SH3 have problems to follow even GWX manual... they are not forum members and we are not avare of them.

For my part, I can accept the argument FOR WWII...because I generally agree.

I'm less convinced about the merits of the "Das-Boot" environment. I have the idea that our US "fleet boats" were rather more comfortable, for instance (right up to the point where they got you killed, anyway) than were any of the U-boats.

The argument about non-English speakers holds less water, too, in my view.

In the real world (the flight sim world, and the REAL flight world) English is THE SINGLE COMMMON language of choice. Not because it's necessarily easy to learn, and not necessarily because most practitioners (of the particulatr art) speak it...but because it's relatively accessible to everyone (provided they will put in the work required to learn it).

English CAN be learned by almost everyone.


CS

Funny, Silent Hunter started in the Pacific first. SH2 was originally advertised as 'SH with u-boats'. SH3 may or may not have been an attempt to fix SH2, but Silent Hunter has its roots in the Pacific and that theater has just as much claim on it as the Atlantic.

Which isn't to say I want one over the other. I like both.:sunny: